Social Listening Report Number 1: 17 May 2021
- Title
- Social Listening Report Number 1: 17 May 2021
- Type of Report
- Social Listening Report
- Date
- May 17, 2021
- Key Trends In the Report
- The country was on adjusted alert level 1 from 1 March to 30 May 2021. The disaster management regulation on level 1 indicated low Covid-19 spread with a high health system readiness. Social media monitoring revealed growing concerns about the efficacy of vaccines and potential side effects. The emergence of the Indian Covid variant led to heightened fears and xenophobia. Lastly, misinformation spread claims that vaccines were responsible for unreported deaths, severe side effects, and long-term illnesses similar to HIV.
- Misinformation by Period
- Vaccine myths such as vaccines cause more death than they are reported publicly. There were concerns about efficacy and side effects of vaccines. There was concerns about the Indian variant and fear of xenophobia. Vaccines are ungodly and devil tools.
- Suggested Recommendations
- Develop messages. Consider contacting religious leaders and sector networks. Take-down requests on social media platforms
- Lockdown Level
- 1
- Cumulative Cases
- 1 615 485
- Cumulative Deaths
- 55 260
- Cumulative Hospitalisations
- 267 381
- Cumulative Recoveries
- 1 526 638
- Total number of vaccines administered to date
- 499 564
- Geographical Region
- Global
- Curators of the report
- National Department of Health
- Stakeholders
- National Health Hotline: Reports from the national call centre
- Org: NDOH Covid-19 WhatsApp system
- WHO Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA)
- UNICEF: digital analysis of content on Google, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and digital news
- SA Red Cross: Network of over 2,000 community volunteers reporting misinformation and concerns.
- Real 411 Media Monitoring Africa: a mis- and disinformation reporting and debunking initiative
- COVID Comms: a network of communications specialists that produces information on the pandemic.
- DOH Free State & KZN: Provincial Departments of Health
- Health Systems Trust, Community Constituency Front (CCF),
- Health Enabled
- Centre for Communication Impact, Centre for Analytics & Behavioural Change
- Medical Research Council, National Institute for Communicable Diseases,
- SA Vaccination and Immunisation Centre, HSRC, DG Murray Trust, Right to Care
- Universities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Free State, Wits, Stellenbosch, Sefako Makgatho
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